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Kappa Kappa Psi
|birthplace = Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University) |type = Recognition |scope = National |vision = With a dedicated spirit of unity and cooperation, we are unequivocally committed to become the world standard of excellence for band fraternal organizations. |colors = Blue White |motto = "Strive for the Highest"Kappa Kappa Psi @ Mississippi StateHappy Founder's Day 2012 |flower = Red carnation |publication = The PODIUM (1939–Present) The Baton (1922–1947) |chapters = 209 active, 315 chartered |colonies = 7 |members = 6,000 |lifetime = 66,000+ |free_label = Nickname |address = 401 E. 9th Ave. |city = Stillwater |state = Oklahoma |country = USA |homepage = http://www.kkpsi.org }} Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity (ΚΚΨ, colloquially referred to as KKPsi or KKY), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919 at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, now known as Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Kappa Kappa Psi primarily operates as a recognition society providing service, leadership opportunities, and social programming for band members. Tau Beta Sigma, National Honorary Band Sorority, has been recognized as a sister organization since 1947, and the two organizations share National Headquarters in Stillwater Station, a converted historical Santa Fe rail depot that was purchased by the fraternity and sorority in 1991. Since 1919, more than 66,000 men and women have been initiated into Kappa Kappa Psi, with nearly 6,000 collegiate members active today. Members of Kappa Kappa Psi include President Bill Clinton; astronaut Neil Armstrong;Prominent members chancellor and eleventh president of Indiana University, Herman B Wells; composers John Williams and John Philip Sousa; conductor William Revelli; and jazz pianist and bandleader Count Basie. History Founding and expansion William A. Scroggs, a student at Oklahoma A&M College, sought to establish an organization that would "bind dear friendship together indefinitely" and unite members across colleges and universities. After some initial planning, he consulted band president A. Frank Martin and Bohumil Makovsky, director of bands at Oklahoma A&M, both of whom agreed to help with the creation of the fraternity. From Makovsky's band, 10 members were selected as the first members of Kappa Kappa Psi: William Alexander Scroggs, Andrew Franklin Martin, Raymond David Shannon, Clyde DeWitt Haston, Clayton Everett Soule, Carl Anderson Stevens, William Houston Coppedge, Dick Hurst, George Asher Hendrickson, and Iron Hawthorne Nelson. The founders accepted chemistry professor Hilton Ira Jones' suggestion to name the fraternity "Kappa Kappa Psi." It was organized on November 27, 1919, and Scroggs was unanimously elected to serve as the President. Legal organization was completed on March 5, 1920, when the fraternity received its charter from the state of Oklahoma. The formal organization of the fraternity was celebrated on either March 23 or 25, 1920, with the initiation of the first membership class and a banquet. The uncertainty comes from an error in the article that makes it unclear whether the initiation and banquet took place on Tuesday the 23rd or on Thursday the 25th. The fraternity grew rapidly in its first years. Within ten years, there were 27 chapters spanning from the University of Washington in the west to Duke University in the east. Only 14 were installed during the Great Depression, while World War II put a further damper on fraternal activities. At the 1939 National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, plans were set into action to make Kappa Kappa Psi an international fraternity. Invitations were sent to colleges and universities in Canada and South America, but no chapters were ever installed at those institutions. World War II Before World War II, most college bands were military-style and exclusively male. When the war began, most band members left to serve in the armed forces, which greatly strained the fraternity—to the point that 90 percent of chapters were forced to suspend activities. The Grand Council granted those chapters that were forced to suspend their activities "war furlough" so that instead of treating the chapter as inactive, their service would be honored. War furlough enabled a chapter to seal its records and keep its materials in safekeeping for the duration of the war. Petitions for war furlough required the signatures of all active members, the director of bands or other faculty member who was an honorary member of the fraternity, as well as the signature of the college or university president. Only five chapters remained active during the war: the Alpha chapter at Oklahoma A&M College, Alpha Beta at Butler University, Alpha Iota at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Alpha Omicron at Texas Technological College, and Alpha Pi at the University of Tulsa. With so many members serving overseas, including members of the Grand Council, the 1943 and 1945 national conventions were canceled. Because of the number of men serving in the military, many band programs opened up to women during this time. At Texas Tech, a local sorority for women in the band was established as Tau Beta Sigma. The women of Tau Beta Sigma petitioned Kappa Kappa Psi to be chartered as an auxiliary chapter of the fraternity, which was supported by founder A. Frank Martin, who was serving as National Executive Secretary, and Max Mitchell, Grand Second Vice President. On January 25, 1944, Martin wrote to fellow founder, William Scroggs, "If we do not meet this new situation and give recognition to the girls who are coming into the bands or make it possible to give aid or assistance to the many universities and colleges that have bands composed of both boys and girls, we will be playing second fiddle within the next five years to some band fraternity that will grant membership to boys and girls and their chapters will open up in the smaller schools where ours have died." The fraternity was unable to decide whether or not to accept Tau Beta Sigma's petition due to the severely reduced number of members and the cancelation of the 1943 and 1945 national conventions. Ultimately, Tau Beta Sigma decided not to become an auxiliary chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and chartered as a national organization on March 26, 1946. They were officially recognized and accepted as a sister organization of the fraternity at the first national convention following the war in 1947. Post-war expansion After the war, Kappa Kappa Psi began an ambitious expansion program to reactivate old chapters and install new ones. The fraternity had been divided into 11 districts since 1941, which were led by a Grand Counselor (now called Governors). With the revitalization of the fraternity, these districts were reorganized and pamphlets were printed detailing the fraternity's purposes and history. District governors were charged with giving information to potential chapters. The expansion program was quite successful—in the ten years following the fraternity's reorganization in 1947, Kappa Kappa Psi more than doubled the number of installed chapters, growing from 45 chapters installed before the war to 98 by the end of 1957. May 1957 saw the first chapters at historically black universities: On May 19, the Delta Alpha chapter at Langston University was installed; three days later, the Gamma Omega chapter was established at Texas Southern University. On September 1, 1967, the 11 districts were consolidated into nine. These districts would again be consolidated in 1987, to six districts with regional names: Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, North Central, Midwest, and Western. Effect of Title IX On June 23, 1972, Title IX was enacted and had tremendous repercussions for the women's rights movement. Title IX prevented organizations from excluding members based on sex. Although social fraternities were exempt from the law, Kappa Kappa Psi, as a recognition society, fell under its purview. Rutgers University's board of trustees decided that Rutgers should serve as a model for the rest of the United States in Title IX implementation and mandated that all organizations on campus become coeducational or face disciplinary actions. The men of the Alpha Phi chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi regarded this issue as minor given the ongoing Vietnam War. With dwindling numbers, Alpha Phi looked to the new women members of the Rutgers band as potential members. The national constitution of Kappa Kappa Psi prohibited women from holding membership, so the Alpha Phi chapter explored the possibility of establishing a chapter of Tau Beta Sigma. This was unrealistic, as the undergraduate college for women prohibited the formation of or membership in any sorority. On October 8, 1972, the men of Alpha Phi voted to admit women into their chapter. They alerted National Headquarters, and National Secretary Robert H. Rubin replied telling Alpha Phi not to administer any degree of ritual until the issue could be discussed in person. When Rubin arrived at Rutgers on November 11, 1972, he learned that the first degree of ritual had been administered, which began formal probationary membership. Alpha Phi's charter was immediately revoked and their chapter was placed on suspension. On November 13, the former Alpha Phi chapter formally reorganized as Mu Upsilon Alpha. On October 7, 2007, Mu Upsilon Alpha became a chapter of Mu Beta Psi. }} At the national convention of 1973, the issues presented by Title IX were discussed by the Grand Chapter. The jurisdiction committee considered several options that would bring the fraternity into compliance, but were not receptive of the general idea. At the insistence of committee chair Richard Adler, from the Nu chapter at the University of Michigan, the jurisdiction committee presented the Grand Chapter with an amendment "without prejudice"—that is, without recommendation for or against the amendment—that would strike the section of the constitution that read, "All members of the Fraternity shall be of the male sex." The committee simultaneously recommended that the delegation take no action to change the constitution or consider a merger with Tau Beta Sigma. The amendment was defeated, and a separate amendment was proposed and approved that changed the wording to say, "All active, alumni, inactive, and life members of the Fraternity be of the male sex." This amendment was approved, allowing the fraternity to initiate women as honorary members. During the 1973–1975 biennium, pressure was put on Kappa Kappa Psi chapters by their host institutions to admit women to comply with Title IX. The issue was again brought up at the 1975 national convention, and a joint committee consisting of an equal number of members from Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma was formed to explore the legal possibilities of a corporate merger of the two organizations, with the results of their investigation to be read at the 1977 convention. At the 1977 national convention, votes were cast by the Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma delegations for a merger—Kappa Kappa Psi voted 211 against, 9 for; Tau Beta Sigma voted 104 against, 4 for. With the idea of a merger soundly defeated, the delegation voted to remove all references to gender from the constitution, allowing women to become active members in full and regular standing. The first women to join the fraternity were sisters of the Sigma chapter of Tau Beta Sigma at Arizona State University, who merged with the Beta Omicron chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi after a unanimous vote of both organizations. These women were Patricia A. Childress, Lydia L. Lennon, Leslie A. Anderson, Mary L. Duffala, Mary M. Ketterer, Kristina M. Zipsnis, Clara M. Bertilson, and Toni Ryon, who were initiated into Beta Omicron on August 26, 1977. On August 27, Lea F. Fuller was initiated. The first woman to participate in the formal probationary membership process and become a member of Kappa Kappa Psi was Darragh Hill Young, who was initiated into the Beta Tau chapter at Wichita State University on September 1, 1977. Early 21st century Beginning with the installation of the Kappa Pi chapter at Claflin University on February 24, 2001, 57 new chapters have been installed in the 21st century. In 2006, Kappa Kappa Psi celebrated its inaugural National Month of Musicianship during the month of November, the month in which the fraternity was founded. The annual month-long event is intended to promote music and university bands. Local chapters celebrate the National Month of Musicianship in various ways, such as creating lab bands for student conductors, organizing reading bands, and hosting master classes. Also in 2008, Kappa Kappa Psi joined other Greek organizations in sponsoring HazingPrevention.Org, a national anti-hazing organization. Dr. Malinda Matney, past National President and current member of the Kappa Kappa Psi Board of Trustees, has served on the HazingPrevention.Org Board of Directors since 2009. On December 1, 2011, following the death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion, the Delta Iota chapter was placed on investigative hold pending an investigation by the national fraternity. In January 2012, the Tallahassee Democrat reported alleged hazing by the FAMU chapter in spring 2010. According to the allegations, two members of the FAMU band faculty were involved in a hazing incident at a professor's home in which prospective members were struck on the back and neck and forced to recite information. The fraternity's investigation was postponed at the request of FAMU due to the ongoing police investigation. The investigations cleared Delta Iota of any connection to Champion's death; Champion was not a member or prospective member of the fraternity. After the conclusion of both the police and fraternity investigations, the national council closed down the chapter because of its violations of fraternity policy and the uncertainty of the future of the FAMU band program. As part of the chapter's termination, 28 members, including all active and prospective members in spring 2010, were expelled from the fraternity. Alumni members of the chapter who were present at the hazing were also expelled. Furthermore, the Delta Iota chapter may not return to FAMU before May 2017. Members who joined the fraternity after spring 2010 were transferred to alumni status but cannot participate in any fraternity events due to the shutdown of the chapter. No criminal charges were filed due to the delay in reporting and investigation. Programs National scope National Intercollegiate Band In 1922, plans were made to hold the first national intercollegiate band contest. A brief dispatch in the 1922 Baton explained, "Sometime within the next two years the Kappa Kappa Psi Fraternity will hold a National Intercollegiate Band Contest. This enterprise will be the first of its kind ever attempted. As Music is becoming the foremost Art in America, our Fraternity aims to assist in so spreading the good work." Nothing came of these early plans, however, and the idea of a national intercollegiate band was not revisited until the 1940s. Beginning in 1933, the first intercollegiate band was established, with musicians from the University of Colorado (home of the Alpha Iota chapter), the University of Denver (Alpha Lambda), Colorado State College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts (Kappa), Colorado State College of Education (Alpha Theta), the Colorado School of Mines (Xi), and the University of Utah participating. In 1934, the University of Utah left the intercollegiate band and the University of Wyoming (Alpha Nu) took its place. The concerts held by this intercollegiate band were sponsored by the local chapters of Kappa Kappa Psi and many members of the fraternity were involved with the ensemble, including F. Lee Bowling, who served as the band's manager. F. Lee Bowling was elected Grand President of the fraternity in 1941 and presented a plan to hold a national intercollegiate band concert, modeled after the Rocky Mountain intercollegiate bands. The plan was endorsed by the delegation to be executed at the next national convention in 1943. However, due to World War II, the 1943 and 1945 national conventions were not held, and so the first National Intercollegiate Band was formed and gave a concert on the evening of Friday, March 7, 1947. Today, participation in the National Intercollegiate Band is open to any college band member who auditions—membership in Kappa Kappa Psi or Tau Beta Sigma is not required. In June and July 2002, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma sponsored the first National Intercollegiate Marching Band, which traveled to the French Riviera, including the cities of Nice, Grasse, Aix-en-Provence, Cannes, Antibes, and the Principality of Monaco. The thirty-five member band performed at Le Suquet in Cannes, in Nice, and in front of the Prince's Palace of Monaco."National Intercollegiate Marching Band French Riviera-Principality of Monaco Working Itinerary #4" (DOC). Email attachment in After the inaugural trip, the program was dissolved by the joint national councils due to its high cost and low attendance, which was believed to be caused by a fear of traveling abroad after the September 11 attacks. The success of the National Intercollegiate Band led to districts creating their own bands. The first of these was the Atlantic Coast Intercollegiate Band, formed in 1958 at the convention of Districts X and XI. The Atlantic Coast band comprised around one hundred musicians and was conducted by Paul V. Yoder. The convention was hosted by the Beta Chi chapter at the University of Virginia, and the convention and concert were co-sponsored by the Universities of Rutgers, Maryland, and Pittsburgh. In 2009, the North Central District organized the first North Central District Intercollegiate Band. The North Central District Intercollegiate Band is the only currently functioning district intercollegiate band and has performed at every North Central District convention since its inaugural. Commissioning Program Since 1953, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma have commissioned a new work for wind band to be premiered at almost every National Intercollegiate Band concert. This program was begun to add to the wind repertoire under the direction of Grand President Hugh McMillen, and is the longest-running commissioning project in the United States. A number of these commissioned compositions have garnered national acclaim, including Robert Russell Bennett's Symphonic Songs for Band and Karel Husa's Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Orchestra. In the years following the start of the national commissioning program, local chapters have begun to commission new band works themselves, such as Frank Ticheli's An American Elegy, commissioned by the Alpha Iota chapter in memory of the Columbine High School massacre. Stillwater Station The Stillwater Santa Fe Depot is a historic building originally built in March 1900. In 1915, a brick depot was added. The depot was used as a passenger rail station until 1953.National Register of Historic Places, Stillwater Santa Fe Depot, Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma, National Register #80004293. The depot was purchased at auction by five Stillwater residents, including three Alpha chapter alumni, in November 1991. Stillwater Station replaced Oklahoma State University's Seretean Center for the Performing Arts as the National Headquarters of the two organizations. The fraternity and sorority share office space, a conference room, and storage space in the converted station, which also hosts the organizations' archives. The brick path leading to the building's entrance has become a "Walk of Fame" with engraved bricks purchased by individuals or chapters. In 2006, Kappa Kappa Psi purchased a retired Detroit, Toledo and Ironton caboose to provide additional space for the fraternity's history and archives program. After it was purchased, the caboose was placed on newly laid tracks outside the headquarters and wired for electricity, phone, and internet. The caboose is intended to host archives, artifacts, and chapter histories, as well as displays of historical items. Membership References External links * * Category:1919 organizations Category:Professional fraternities